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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the government shut down on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to keep doing their duties without pay.

But a number have been absent, causing terminals to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks caused by weather and additional factors.

More than three thousand American flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he anticipates the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy remarked in an interview on a weekend program, noting that he had met with several controllers to hear their worries firsthand.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to find another source of income to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest after the closure began.

The US government shutdown reached its 26th day on the weekend, rendering it the second most extended shutdown in the past.

He has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the number of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his interview, he would not answer straightforwardly when questioned if it was safe to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.

"I need my controllers concentrating on the flight paths, not on the finances at home," the official said.

On that day, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing disruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the nation and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert was issued at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were postponed an average of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second-busiest airport in the country, could encounter problems from reduced staff later in the day.

The FAA advised passengers in California to check with carriers about updated flight schedules.

The issue precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday night, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest times to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It prompted a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the federal closure after 35 days.